Aging F-16 Converted Into a Target-Practice Drone

A QF-16 Full Scale Aerial Target from the 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron flies over the Gulf of Mexico during its first unmanned flight at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., Sept. 19. The 82nd ATRS operates the Department of Defense’s only full-scale aerial target program. The QF-16 will provide fourth generation fighter representation of real world threats for testing and training, say operators. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. J. Scott Wilcox)

After nearly 40 years as the cornerstone of the U.S. Air Force’s fighter fleet, the F-16 tried out a a new role last week: robotic flying bull’s-eye.

A modified F-16 took flight from Tindall Air Force Base in Florida without a pilot so it could be blown to smithereens. The Boeing retrofit of retired Lockheed Martin F-16s will be used as target practice for training situations under the name QF-16.

“The QF-16 full-scale aerial targets will be used to test newly developed weapons and train pilots for the rapidly changing nature of warfare in a safe and controlled environment,” said Boeing in a statement.

“It was a little different to see an F-16 take off without anyone in it, but it was a great flight all the way around,” said Lt. Col. Ryan Inman, Commander, 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron. “It’s a replication of current, real world situations and aircraft platforms they can shoot as a target. Now we have a mission capable, highly sustainable full scale aerial target to take us into the future.”

During last week’s test, a pair of QF-16s aced taking off and landing on its own, as well as performing a series of simulated maneuvers. It also flew at 40,000 feet and broke the sound barrier at Mach 1.47.

Under an initial contract of $70 million, Boeing has modified six F-16s into the QF-16 configuration with low-rate initial production scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter and first production deliveries in 2015.

However, some are concerned about the potential for the Air Force to move the QF-16 from a training and testing vehicle to their use in warfare.

“I’m very concerned these could be used to target people on the ground,” Noel Sharkey from the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots told the BBC. “I’m particularly worried about the high speed at which they can travel because they might not be able to distinguish their targets very clearly.”

But converting retired aircraft for the purpose of training and weapon testing is a move the Air Force has had success with in the past when they converted Vietnam-era F-4 Phantom fighters to pilotless aircraft for target practice. The inventory of those QF-4s are expected to be depleted by the end of 2015, hence the need for the QF-16s.

“Talk about cradle-to-grave value out of an airplane, in terms of taxpayers’ dollars, I mean right up to the very end, this airplane is providing payback,” said Air Force Lt. Colonel Ron Miller at the time.

The exact costs of the F-16 are unclear, but some versions of it are estimated at approximately $30 million. So using them for target practice makes more economic sense than shipping them to the Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, home to billions of dollars worth of rotting aircraft.

Aircraft sit at sunset at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, often called the Boneyard, at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., Sept. 26, 2012. The 309th AMARG is an Air Force aircraft and missile storage and maintenance facility in Tucson, Ariz. (U.S. Air Force photo/Val Gempis)Go Back to Top. Skip To: Start of Article.